Schyulkill River Schyulkill County 5/27/17

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Fished various spots from Middleport, New Philadelphia downstream to Port Carbon from 9am till 12. Rain started just as I did but it didn't last long.

Was hoping to maybe cash in on some large wild trout or maybe some of the large fingerling stocked brook trout. I thought trying to fish the smaller water from Big Creek downstream to Middleport would be a good bet but it's hard to find access here.

The New Philadelphia area and Port Carbon area proved to be productive but not on my target fish. I was swinging a large caddis and a royal coachmen wet and took 3 pretty nice big stocked rainbows. By all accounts these were really nice stocked fish, Football shaped and appeared to have no fin wear. Maybe fingerling stocked?

I was in the wild trout section but couldn't turn anything wild trout up at all. I'm assuming the population is low but I thought I'd at least get one. No dice though.

With those large stocked fish I can see the draw but I don't think I'll be back to this section. I know it's recovering and fairly urban here but it was like fishing in a mine acid sewer ditch running through a dumpsite.

Was still enjoyable just not what I normally look for.

 

[troutbert]

salvelinusfontinalis wrote:

...it was like fishing in a mine acid sewer ditch running through a dumpsite.

Epic description!!

 

[steliejim]

Those big rainbows were courtesy of the Schuylkill County Chapter of Trout Unlimited. They did a stream improvement project in New Philly. As for the perfect fins, I believe they are raised in a small farm pond.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Got ya.
I didn't notice any improvements in the section I was in but my sample size here was small.
I think it could be a really nice stretch but that little orange creek flowing into it and the coal debris certainly hinders it.
Even still the fish are there and look well fed

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Just wanted to be clear, in case you took it that way, I didn't mean to be insulting.
Heck I fish the Lackawanna. If there ever was a mine acid sewage ditch running through a dump, it would have been the Lackawanna. The schyulkill has a long way to go, but it is getting better.
I don't mind these streams if they provide a quality wild trout fishery and the Schyulkill may, I just couldn't turn them up.
Are there browns or brookies in there?

It was a very eye opening experience, it is good to see places once lost coming back. It inspired me to go to another, once damaged fishery by mines after my visit and I caught a very large wild brook trout.

So I do have hope for the Schyulkill.

 

[Wild_Trouter]

Sal...PM sent.

 

[Mike]

Fingerling stocking from Middleport down to Port Carbon was terminated a few yrs ago as results in that stretch were poorer than desired and as stream habitat conditions deteriorated in some stretches. Fingerling BT stockings continue annually in the stretch with more consistent success....Tumbling Run downstream to RT 443 in Schuylkill Haven. Meanwhile, the wild ST population since about 2001 in the Tuscarora area has gone from none to a nice population in recent years. From Big Ck down to New Philadelphia, the wild ST population is variable, but generally of a High Class D to perhaps mid Class C nature, depending upon physical habitat. The population declines substantially perhaps a mile or so below New Philly where iron precipitate becomes problematic from there to Pottsville.

Individual wild ST rarely exceed 8 inches in the main Schuylkill, except near some tribs. We do hear of occasional large BT, but have not seen evidence of BT reproduction except to an apparently very limited extent in the Schuylkill Haven area. These may also be fish coming from the West Branch.

One stretch where wild ST size appeared to be limited by the very shallow nature of the stream received habitat improvement attention from Schuylkill Co TU last year immediately below New Philadelphia.